• AS/NZS 3012 – Electrical installations – Construction and demolition sites

• AS/NZS 3760-  In-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment.

• AS 3190 - Approval and Test Specifications - Residual Current Devices (RCD)

Personal protective equipment.

• AS 1270  – Acoustics - hearing protectors

• AS 1716  – Respiratory protective devices

• AS/NZS 1715 Selection Use and Maintenance of Respiratory Protective Devices

• AS/NZS 1269.3 Occupational Noise Management. Part 3: Hearing Protector Program

• AS 1270 Acoustics - Hearing Protectors

• AS/NZS 2210.1 Occupational Protective Footwear. Guide to Selection Care and Use.

• AS/NZS 2210.2 Occupational Protective Footwear. Specification.

• AS/NZS 1336 Recommended Practices for Occupational Eye Protection

• AS\NZS 1337 Eye Protectors for Industrial Applications

• AS/NZS 1800 Occupational Protective Helmets - Selection, Care and Use.

• AS 3745 Emergency control of organisation and procedures for buildings

• AS 2444 Portable fire extinguishers and fire blankets - selection and location

• AS 1851.1 Maintenance of fire protection equipment – portable fire extinguishers and fire blankets

• AS 1319 Safety signs on the occupational environment

• AS 2488 Resuscitators intended for human use

OHS Management Systems

• AS 1470:  Health and safety at work – principles and practices

• AS/NZS 4360:  Risk management (August Update AS/NZS 4360:2004 out now)

Fall Prevention

• AS 1657 Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders– Design, construction and installation

• AS/NZS 3661.1:  Slip resistance of pedestrian surfaces – requirements, and

• AS/NZS 3661.2:  Slip resistance of pedestrian surfaces – Guide to the reduction of slip hazards

• AS/NZS 1891.4: Industrial fallarrest systems and devices – selection, use and maintenance

• AS/NZS 1892.5 Portable ladders – Selection, safe use and care.

• AS/NZS 4567 Guidelines for scaffolding

• AS/NZS  4576 Guidelines for Scaffolding

• AS 1577 Scaffold planks

• AS/NZS 4431 Guidelines for safe working on new lift installations in new constructions

Workplace

• AS 1680.1 Interior lighting: general principles and recommendations

• AS 1680.2 Interior lighting: office and screen-based tasks

• AS 1668 Mechanical ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality

• AS/NZS 1269 (Parts 0-4) Occupational Noise Management Series

• AS 3640: Method for sampling a gravimetric determination of inspirable dust.

• AS 1319 Safety signs on the occupational environment

Confined Spaces

• AS 2865 Safe Working in a Confined Space

Plant

• AS 1353.1 Flat synthetic-webbing slings – product specification

• AS 2741 Shackles

• AS 4497.1 Roundslings – synthetic fibre – product specification

• AS 1666.1 Wire-rope slings – product specification

• AS 4024 Safeguarding of machinery

• AS 1473 Guarding and safe use of woodworking machinery

• AS 1755 Conveyors

• AS 2550 Cranes – safe use

• AS 2359 Powered industrial trucks

Gas cylinders

• AS 2337 Gas cylinder test stations

Copies of Codes can be obtained from WorkCover NSW or downloaded from their web page.

An approved industry code of practice is a practical guide to achieving the standard of

for a particular area of work.

This approved industry code of practice should be followed unless there is an alternative

course of action, which achieves the same or better standard of health and safety in the

workplace.

An industry code of practice is approved by the Special Minister for State. It comes into

effect on the day the notice of this approval is published in the NSW Government Gazette

or on the day specified in the Gazette notice.

An approved industry code of practice is designed to be used in conjunction with the Act

and Regulation but does not have the same legal force. A person or company cannot be

prosecuted for failing to comply with an approved industry code of practice.

However, in proceedings under the Act or Regulation, failure to observe a relevant

approved industry code of practice can be used as evidence that a person or company has

contravened or failed to comply with the provisions of the Act or Regulation.

A WorkCover Authority Inspector may cite an approved industry code of practice in a

direction or in an improvement or prohibition notice, indicating the measures that should be

taken to remedy an alleged contravention or non-compliance. Failure to comply with a

requirement in an improvement or prohibition notice is an offence.

(1) An employer must ensure that each member of an OHS committee and

each OHS representative undertakes a course of training in accordance

with this clause.

(2) The course of training must be undertaken as soon as practicable after

the person is first appointed as a member of the committee or first

elected as a representative (unless the person has previously

undertaken an approved course of training).

(3) The course of training must be provided by:

    (a) a trainer who is accredited by WorkCover to provide that

    course of training, or

    (b) a registered provider under the Vocational Education and

    Training Accreditation Act 1990 whose registration extends to

    providing a course of OHS consultation training.

(See details in our Training Courses section above)

See also WorkCover Code of Practice for Consultation.

(a) excavation,

including the excavation or filling of trenches, ditches, shafts, wells, tunnels and pier holes, and the use of caissons and cofferdams,

(b) building,

including the construction (including the manufacturing of prefabricated elements of a building at the place of work concerned), alteration, renovation, repair, maintenance and demolition of all types of buildings,

February - Blue

March - Orange

April - Green

May - White

June - Yellow

July - Blue

August - Green

September - Red

October - Yellow

November - Orange

December - White

First aiders have no more responsibility than is set out in the employee duties under the OHS Act 2001.

If any person hinders the provision of first aid to an injured person at work or refuses a reasonable request for such aid they may be guilty of an offence under the OHS Act.

Q. What First Aid Kits are required at a workplace?

First Aid Kit A

Construction sites at which 25 or more persons

work or other places of work at which 100 or more

persons work

First Aid Kit B

Construction sites at which fewer than 25 persons

work or other places of work at which fewer than

100 and more than 10 persons work

First Aid Kit C

Places of work (other than construction sites) at

which 10 or fewer persons work

Details of the contents of these kits can be found in Chapter 20 of the WorkCover NSW OH&S Regulation 2001.

Q: Should paracetamol and other Scheduled or over-the-counter medications be included in any Workplace Kit or Module?

These are drugs requiring appropriate medical supervision and, despite their ready availability, should only be dispensed by persons with training in the administration of non-prescription medications.

Employees should be responsible for carrying and dispensing their own prescribed or over-the-counter medications.

Accordingly, analgesics should be included in first aid kits only after consultation with employees and when an appropriate management plan is in place.

(i) carcinogenic (cancer causing), mutagenic or teratogenic

(ii) a skin or respiratory sensitiser

(iii) corrosive, toxic or very toxic

(iv) a harmful substance that can cause irreversible effects after acute exposure

(v) a harmful substance that can cause serious damage to health after repeated or prolonged exposure

(vi) toxic to reproduction

(a) describes how work is to be carried out, and

(b) identifies the work activities assessed as having safety risks, and

(c) identifies the safety risks, and

(d) describes the control measures that will be applied to the work

activities,

and includes a description of the equipment used in the work, the

standards or codes to be complied with, the qualifications of the

personnel doing the work and the training required to do the work.

Any place of work at which:

(a) construction work is undertaken and the cost of the work

exceeds $250,000, or

(b) high risk construction work is undertaken and the cost of the

work does not exceed $250,000, or

(c) demolition work or asbestos removal work for which a licence

is required (regardless of the cost of the work).

A sub-contractor must not commence construction work at a place of

work unless the sub-contractor:

(a) has been provided by the principal contractor with a copy of the parts of the OHS management plan for the place of work that are relevant to the sub-contractor, and

(b) has undertaken an assessment of the risks associated with the

work to be carried out and provided to the principal contractor

a written safe work method statement that includes a copy of

the assessment of risks, and

(c) has completed induction training with respect to occupational

health and safety as specified in the occupational health and

safety management plan for the place of work.

Back to Top >

Traffic Control (NSW Only)

There are 5 different colored cards issued by the RTA in NSW that allow people to perform various traffic control functions.

There are training courses for each card.

Note: These tickets are NOT for pedestrian crossings which require a STOP/STOP bat.

(Contact RTA for information on pedestrian crossing training courses)

Grey Card      - To control traffic with a stop / slow bat in non-construction workplaces

Blue Card      - To control traffic with a stop / slow bat in either non-construction or construction workplaces

Yellow Card  - To apply and layout a traffic management plan at a worksite

Red Card       - To select a suitable traffic management plan from a list of pre-written plans

Orange Card - To deign and audit traffic management plans

No card does all functions. Some traffic control workers have several, if not all, these cards to perform the traffic control tasks at a worksite.

See individual card details for more information.

Back to Top >

White Card

Nationally, there are a number of different "white cards" which refer to the Construction Industry Induction training courses.

They are wallet size cards and should be shown to principle contractors and safety inspectors as evidence that OHS training has been undertaken for the construction industry.

NSW - The WorkCover Construction Induction Certificate is known as both the "white card" and the "green card".

(See Green Card above for more information.) It has the NSW WorkCover logo on the card.

This card replaced the previous NSW "Green Card" in April 2004.

VIC - The new National Construction Card "white card" is white with a black and yellow border. It has the VIC WorkSafe Logo.

This card is accepted in NSW as equivalent to the NSW White Card.

This card replaces the previous VIC "Red Card." (the VIC "red card" can also be accepted in NSW)

SA - The South Australian Construction card is also known as the National "white card". It also has the SafeWork SA logo.

This card is accepted in NSW as equivalent to the NSW White Card.

This card replaces the previous SA "green card", which is not acceptable in NSW.

QLD - Currently has a Blue Card but there is some activity to suggest that a QLD National White Card will emerge in the future.

The Blue Card can be accepted in NSW as equivalent to the NSW White Card.

Note that since Nov 17th 2008, the VIC "white card", VIC "red card", SA "white card" and the QLD "blue card" are acceptable in NSW as equivalent to the NSW "white card".

Eventually it is envisaged that each state will offer a National "white card" that can be used throughout Australia.

Yellow Card

There are a number of different Yellow Card qualifications.

a) Traffic Control - Apply TCP (Traffic Control Plans):- The NSW RTA Yellow card qualification allows you to lay out a traffic control site as per the TC Plan (ie hats, cones, barricades, position of traffic controllers).

(The TC plan is usually selected by a person who holds the Red Card qualification).

(Note: A holder of a RTA NSW Red Card or Blue Card cannot perform this role, only holders of the Yellow Card can)

b) Machinery Operator:- National Certificate of Competency. This card was issued by WorkCover NSW prior to 2004 and lists the types of machinery the holder is licenced to operate. (eg Fork, Crane, Scaffold etc). See Materials Handling for a full list of Yellow Card categories.

Note that this card has changed to a blue color scheme with a photo of the operator.

c) Electrical Test & Tag Qualification:- Some training companies provide a laminated Yellow Card as well as a certificate of competency on completion of this training. See Elect Test & Tag above.